Mangroves cover less than 1% of tropical forests yet deliver outsized ecosystem services. Discuss with reference to India's coastal resilience.

Mangroves are salt-tolerant plant communities that grow in tropical and subtropical intertidal zones [1]. In India they cover only 4,991.68 sq km, about 0.15% of the country's geographical area [2]. Even so, they are the coast's first line of defence, which makes them a clear case of small area but large ecological and economic value.

Outsized ecosystem services

• Carbon vault: Mangroves store 7.5–10 times more carbon per acre than tropical forests, and 87% of it is locked in the soil (WWF, cited by PIB) [1]. This makes them a blue-carbon asset for India's climate goals.
• Nursery and filter: They are breeding grounds for fish and crabs. They also trap sediment, which protects coral reefs [1].
• Biodiversity refuge: They provide habitat for birds, bees, snakes and other animals [1].
• Livelihoods: They support fisheries, tourism, traditional medicine and crafts [1].

Role in India's coastal resilience

• Bio-shield: Dense roots reduce storm surge, flooding and erosion. This matters most on the cyclone-prone east coast [1].
• Protecting deltas: West Bengal (Sundarbans) holds 42.45% of India's mangroves [2], and they shield a densely populated delta.
• Stronger livelihoods: In Navghar, Maharashtra, a GCF–UNDP project set up a Mangrove Co-Management Committee led by women's SHGs. It revived mud-crab farming, gave people work all year round and curbed illegal cutting [1].
• Growing cover: Mangrove cover rose by 509.68 sq km (11.4%) between 2001 and 2023, and Gujarat alone gained 253.06 sq km [1].

Policy response and gaps

• Law: The CRZ Notification, 2019 classes mangroves as Ecologically Sensitive Areas, with a 50-metre buffer. If development affects mangroves, 3:1 compensatory replanting is required [1].
• Schemes: MISHTI (launched 5 June 2023) targets 540 sq km across 9 states and 4 UTs through CAMPA convergence. The National Coastal Mission funds 38 mangrove sites [3].
• Gaps: The GCF project had restored only 3,114.29 ha of its 10,575 ha target by 2024 [1]. New planting also cannot quickly rebuild the soil carbon that mature stands take decades to build up.

Mangroves turn a narrow strip of land into protection against disasters, a carbon sink and a source of income. India's gains show that regulation, community co-management and convergence funding work together. Scaling up MISHTI, checking whether planted mangroves survive, and valuing blue carbon would make them central to a climate-resilient coast. This fits SDG 13 and SDG 14 and the duty in Article 48A to protect the environment.